Omaha - The University of Nebraska at Omaha
(UNO) Jazz Ensembles will join forces with the Metropolitan Area Youth
Jazz Orchestra for an evening of big band music and dance Wednesday, April
6.

The event will be held in the Milo Bail Student
Center Ballroom on the UNO campus. For those who need to brush up on their
steps, dance lessons will be offered at 7 p.m., followed by the dance at
8 p.m.

Tickets are $7 for the general public and
$5 for students. Refreshments will be provided.

Proceeds from the event will help fund two
upcoming jazz trips for UNO student musicians:

- The UNO Jazz Ensemble and Combo
were selected by taped audition from national applicants to perform at
the 2005 University of North Texas Jazz Festival in Addison, Texas, April
1. En route to the festival, the groups will perform in Iowa and Kansas
City. For more information about the festival, visit the Web at http://www.addisontexas.net/events/jazz_fest/jazz_fest_2005/default.asp.

- The UNO Jazz Combo was selected
by taped audition from applicants across the Midwest to perform at the
International Association for Jazz Education Midwest Regional Conference
in Chicago April 9.

"It's an incredible honor to be selected
for participation in these two events," said Pete Madsen, coordinator
of jazz studies and assistant professor of trombone at UNO. "It speaks
to the talent and dedication of our students, along with their enthusiasm
for the playing and promotion of jazz."

Membership in the UNO Jazz Ensembles is
open to all university students by audition, which includes sight reading
and improvisation. Membership in the UNO Jazz Lab Band is open to all
university students, and no audition is required. An active jazz combo
program is also open to all students.